http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
LAST WEEK, Beijing moved the tripwire on a war with Taiwan. While China
found a new cause for saber rattling, Bill Clinton had the vapors.

Now, China's State Council warns that unless Taipei accepts negotiations
toward reunification -- through which one of the world's most vibrant new
democracies will be absorbed by one of its bloodiest totalitarian states --
it "will be forced to adopt all drastic measures, including the use of
force."

The Clinton administration, which has spent seven years prostrating itself
before the Middle Kingdom, reacted predictably. "One should be careful not
to exaggerate the significance of this," whimpered State Department
Spokesman James Rubin.

But it's difficult to overstate the gravity of the situation.

Before, Beijing said it would attack if Taiwan declared its independence.

Now, it's no longer content with the status quo. Emboldened by Clinton's
"constructive engagement" and frustrated by the failure of past
intimidation, China says it won't wait indefinitely for a Taiwanese
capitulation.

With Clinton at the helm, Beijing can afford to gamble. Quite simply, he is
the Chinese politburo's dream come true. For this president to demonstrate
more sympathy for the People's Republic, we would have
to start lobbing missile toward Taiwan.

Last year, when Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui said dealings with the
mainland should be based on "special state to state relations" and China
threatened war, Clinton spent an hour on the phone soothing Chinese
President Jiang Zemin and canceled a trip to Taipei by mid-level U.S.
officials. Thus, China was rewarded for its belligerence, Taiwan punished
for asserting its rights.

The Taiwan Security Enhancement Act passed the House on Feb. 1 by a 341-70
vote. Among other provisions, the measure calls for increased communication
between the Pentagon and Taiwanese military. Passage would signal America's
determination not to stand idly by while mainland tigers devour our island
ally. The administration is lobbying furiously against it.

Still, the nadir of Clinton's mishandling of China came during his 1998
trip to the People's Republic, when he became the first president to
enunciate the regime's three nos -- no to two Chinas, no to an independent
Taiwan and no to Taiwanese membership in sovereignty-based international
organizations.

All of this has encouraged the communists to keep pushing the envelope.

Most observers believe China's obsession with Taiwan is driven by
hysterical nationalism or fear that the island's democracy will somehow
infect the mainland. In reality, it's a crucial step in Beijing's grand
strategy to dominate East Asia.

Writing in the National Review, Ross H. Munro, author of "The Coming
Conflict with China," observes, "In the eyes of PRC leaders, Taiwan is first
and foremost a strategic target that must soon be subjugated if China is to
realize its goal of becoming Asia's dominant and unchallenged power."

With Taiwan in its grasp, China would control the eastern entrance to the
South China Sea as well as the southern sea lane connecting Japan to its
petroleum supply. The air bases and sea space thus acquired would allow it
to project its power throughout the region.

Munro cautions, "The security of the Philippines would be immediately
threatened, and other Southeast Asian nations would find themselves more
vulnerable to Chinese coercion."

Confirming Munro's thesis, the People's Liberation Army has been planning
for a takeover of Taiwan at least since 1994 -- prior to the island's first
presidential election or Taipei's diplomatic assertiveness.

Clinton's non-strategy here is based on the illusion that by giving Beijing
everything it wants, he can somehow pacify the warlords and that, in time,
China will get over its obsession. Fortunately, there's less than a year
left for the president to inflict his fatal naivete on an explosive
situation.

Since Clinton has once again defaulted on protecting our vital interests,
Republicans must take up the burden by pushing for Senate approval of the
Taiwan Security Enhancement Act.

The eventual GOP nominee could take an even more courageous step by
announcing that -- like John F. Kennedy confronting the communists in
Berlin -- if elected, he will go to Taiwan to express his solidarity with
its free people. How does one say, "I am a Taiwanese" in
mandarin?